At the end of the video I made an attempt to write a poem with slant rhyme.
The mystery and mastery seemed to work, but now I think called and clouded might not work. I'm not one hundred percent sure. The k sound in called and clouded are similar. Check. The d at the end of both words are similar. Check. Is that enough?

*puzzled*

Triolet Thursday - Triolet #16

Triolet 16 - Articles

The most commonly used adjectives are
the articles: a, an, and the.
An example "She is driving in the car."
The most commonly used adjectives are
articles. "The" is definate by far
A and an are indefinate, uh-huh.
The most commonly used adjectives are
the articles: a, an, and the.

"I Wish I Wrote That!" Wednesday

As an aspiring writer (and therefore, a voracious reader), I often find myself reading other authors and saying to myself "I wish I wrote that!" I'm sooooo impressed by an author's ability to construct words into meaningful and fresh sentences, that I'd like to highlight them here on my blog each Wednesday. **************************************************************************
Migrations of the Heart
by Marita Golden
Page 45

The men I met in those first months were sharks - teeth and warm, moist breath on my shoulders. Egos, neon signs growing after dark. Their affection, ice carved into animals I never saw in any zoo.

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I almost don't know what to say about this passage. Men are typically compared to dogs, but Marita steered away from that comparison and took it to another level. I can relate to this feeling as a woman and I wonder if her description could reach a man in the same way. I have a feeling that it could because it is so vivid regardless of if a man has ever felt preyed on by women. At the very least, I hope it might encourage a few of them to look inward and make sure to not be one of these sharks or special zoo animals.

I wish I wrote that!

The braids had to be taken out!

I couldn't take it anymore...and my scalp is relieved.

Triolet Thursday - Triolet #15

I'm using triolets in my English class to reinforce grammar concepts.
Here's an example I used for explaining a linking verb
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Linking Verb Triolet

I link the subject to its complement
am, is, and feels are all examples of me
I'm not an action verb, like squint
I link the subject to its complement
You can use me in cursive and print
Please use me in sentences, feel free
I link the subject to its complement
am, is, and feels are all examples of me
************************************************

"I Wish I Wrote That!" Wednesday

As an aspiring writer (and therefore, a voracious reader), I often find myself reading other authors and saying to myself "I wish I wrote that!" I'm sooooo impressed by an author's ability to construct words into meaningful and fresh sentences, that I'd like to highlight them here on my blog each Wednesday. **************************************************************************
Dust Tracks on a Road
by Zora Neale Hurston
Page 87

There is something about poverty that smells like death. Dead dreams dropping off the heart like leaves in a dry season and rotting around the feet; impulses smothered too long in the fetid air of underground caves. The soul lives in a sickly air. People can be slave ships in shoes.

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How did she manage to come up with that? How long did it take to formulate these sentences? I swear I can't imagine how authors have the ability to make something horrible appear so beautiful. Maybe I didn't word that correctly.

What I'm trying to say is how did she take poverty and turn it into such a vivid image that it became beautiful. Maybe that still isn't it.

She took something as common as poverty and decorated it with alliteration and similes and made it beautiful. Magical. If you didn't realize that you could smell poverty and know how it destroys dreams before you read Mr. Hurston's paragraph, you certainly are hip to it now.

I wish I wrote that!

Triolet Thursday #14

I taught my students how to write a triolet today and yesterday.
The triolet I used as a model is triolet #14.
I didn't concern myself with syllables for this triolet.
I thought it be best to make the poem easy to understand (as possible).
My students are in seventh and eighth grade.
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Creating a Triolet

A triolet has lines that repeat
the first, fourth, and seventh line
the second and eighth line make it complete.
A triolet has lines that repeat
use only eight lines, if you have nine then delete
a triolet poem also has a specific rhyme.
A triolet has lines that repeat
the first, fourth, and seventh line.
************************************************
Here's a bonus triolet that we came up with together as a class:

Cheese

May I have the cheese, please?
It tastes better than bass.
Ooh, I like those fleas!
May I have the cheese, please?
I really need to sneeze,
I don't want it flavored with sassafras
May I have some cheese, please?
It tastes better than bass.

A Novel in a Month?

After some gentle prodding, I decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write a full length novel (50,000 words) in thirty days without any editing. That translates into 1666 words a day.

*Warning* Math calculations are drawing near.

1666 words a day, is nowhere close to what I would average in writing for thirty minutes. On the last freewrite I did, I managed to write 359 words in ten minutes. When I do a freewriting exercise, I tend to type a lot faster than if constructing a triolet or another piece of writing that requires some sort of order, you know like creating a plot or including characters.

If I use that freewrite as my average of what I can write for ten minutes, then if I multiplied it by five, that would take me well over my 1666 word requirement for my novel. In essence, it would take me 50 minutes a day to meet my writing goal.

The very first day of National Novel Writing Month (or #nanowrimo as it is called on Twitter) I was excited about the idea of making such a bold attempt and I dedicated an hour to writing the first day. I’m proud to say that I wrote 1770 words that day, but don’t ask me about my word count for all the days after that because I have not been as successful since.

*Hanging head down in shame*

I haven’t thrown in the towel yet…scratch that, I don’t plan to quit at all, but it's day 8 and I should be at 13,328 words. I am only half way to that total and that’s only if I round up a thousand words.
So what is the silver lining in all of this if I don’t actually make the 50,000 word mark?

1. It’s great writing practice.
2. It forces me to turn off my inner editor.
3. It will be my longest piece of writing to date.
4. I’ll have a piece I can take to a workshop.
5. It could be publishable, with enough revision and editing.
6. I’ve discovered a new writing community.

For me, that’s enough of a reason to persevere through the experience. At least that’s what I’m telling myself so I won’t quit.

Triolet Thursday - Triolet #13

(play Bad Habits in the background when you read this)

You Lost One

Forgive you? No. Don’t misconstrue
your habits made you lose control
my love should have made you eschew
Forgive you? No. Don’t misconstrue
this kiss. Tomorrow I subdue.
Not even your voice can console
Forgive you? No. Don’t misconstrue
your habits made you lose control
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What is a triolet? Check the [corny] video I made on the original post if you need some explanation.

National Novel Writing Month

I signed up for National Novel Writing Month.

My word count for today is 1,770. I need to get up to 50,000 by November 30th...so I'm shooting for 1,700 words a day.

This should be interesting...